Drawn To You
by autumnleavesoncolddays
Summary: Max is nervous because tonight in her art class they're having a model pose nude and it's going to be really awkward.


"Alright everyone, our model should here any minute."

Max felt somewhat embarrassed even though she wasn't the one modeling. Just the idea of having someone sitting there naked while she drew them sounded really awkward.

A girl walked in the room.

_Oh my god. It's-_

"Max?"

"Chloe?"

"I didn't know you were already back, I would've messaged you!"

"Oh, yeah, I should've told you," Max said.

"It's all good. How are you! It's been so long since I've seen you."

"It really has. I'm doing alright. How are you?"

"Not bad, just doing this gig to get some extra cash." Chloe paused. "Wait, are you a student in this class?" Chloe put her hand on her face. "Oh god, now I'm really embarrassed."

Max's face turned red when it finally clicked that Chloe was the model.

"Wow, you're modeling now? I didn't know you were so confident."

"Hardly. The only reason I did this was because I thought everyone here was going to be a stranger."

"It'll be professional," Max said.

"Alright well make me make me look good!"

"I will."

"Hey, after, do you want to like, go grab a bite?" Chloe asked.

"That sounds great."

"Okay awesome."

Chloe walked over to the art teacher.

"Everyone, this is our model, she will remain anonymous, and will be posing for us for the next 30 minutes."

There were an assortment of nods from the students. Chloe awkwardly waved. She then walked into a room that was blocked off by a curtain.

Max stared at her blank sketch pad. _Wow she looks so good. I can't believe how long it's been since I've last seen her. I hope she isn't too mad at me._

Chloe walked out wearing only a robe.

_I can't believe Chloe is about to be naked in front of everyone right now. I've never seen her so confident._

There was a short white platform that Chloe stepped into. Chloe stood there for a moment.

In the back of the class, the teacher turned on a small stereo that was covered in pain. _yellow is the color of her eyes_ by Soccer Mommy started playing. "Whenever you're ready" the teacher said.

Chloe took a deep breath and then looked up into the sky that was the ceiling and slipped the robe off her shoulders and threw it onto the floor.

Max's face was on fire and she tried to stop the flames by looking at her sketch pad.

Chloe sat down, bent one leg up and stretched the other one out and leaned back on her hands.

_Oh my god she looks amazing. I can't believe I'm seeing her naked._

Chloe was looking at the ceiling trying not to make eye contact with anyone.

Max would look at Chloe but then immediately look back at her sketchpad as if she shouldn't be looking at her. It felt forbidden but she reminded herself that she was supposed to be studying her.

All the other students in the class seemed to have neutral and professional looking faces as they began circling out rough outlines of Chloe's body.

Max kept staring at her paper but lifted her eyes to study Chloe.

Chloe was lean and had pale skin that was illuminated by the spot light directly above her. Maybe it was the lighting but it looked like Chloe's skin was glowing.

Chloe continued to hold her stretched position with her head back and her eyes closed. Max's gaze traveled down her curves, down her neck and up and over her collar bones, down her breasts, down and across her stomach, and up and over her long legs, ending on her feet.

The way her breasts curve and point at the sky, the way her stomach is lean and bends as she leans back, the way the muscles in her arms became pronounced, the way the curve of her legs go up and down.

There really was so much about her that Max didn't know. She was seeing Chloe in such a new light.

Max thought about what they might talk about later. _It's been so long. How have you been? You're so sexy!_

_She's so toned. Does she work out? Wait I'm supposed to be studying the shapes. Her shapes._

Max's face still felt warm. She looked around hoping nobody was noticing. The person next to to her already made significant progress, filling in the details of Chloe's face.

Max looked at the paper and picked up one of her pencils and then looked back at Chloe. She looked at Chloe's leg that was bent up and she looked at the curve of Chloe's butt that was pressed against the surface of the platform. She found herself lifting her head up to try and see a different view...

_What am I doing? I draw the perspective I currently see._

Max picked up one of the soft pencils and began roughing out an oval shape.

She added another circle for Chloe's head. She looked at Chloe's face and the way the light bounced off the surface of her skin. The way her lips slightly shimmered, the way her lashes extended down onto the top of her cheek.

Chloe moved her head down and made eye contact with Max and smiled and shook her head. She used her fingers to point at her own eyes and gestured for Max to look away.

Max looked away but then looked back and held her arms up and pointed to her sketchbook and mouthed _I can't!_

Chloe smiled again and rolled her eyes and then went back to her pose of leaning her head back.

Max's heart was racing. Chloe acknowledged that Max was looking at her. She felt the need to apologize, but then she remembered that she was supposed to be looking at Chloe. She was supposed to be studying her body. Right?

Max was then wondering if she was studying too much? How long was she supposed to be staring at Chloe's body? Should she be looking at her sketch pad more? Her-drawing-to-Chloe-body-gaze ratio was too high on the Chloe-body-gaze side. She looked around at the other students, they they were all busy concentrating on the drawing, only occasionally glancing up at Chloe.

Max looked at her drawing and started panicking. She hasn't nearly made as much progress as everyone else.

Max looked back at Chloe, who was looking back at her again!

_Oh shit! How long was she looking at me?!_

Chloe smiled. Max did a half grin while taking off her cardigan because _it's so damn hot in here!_

Chloe continued to watch Max. Max looked back at her drawing and then back up and Chloe was still looking at her.

Max focused on Chloe's face. Her beautiful eyes looking right at her.

The music fade transitioned into another song. During the silence, Max could hear the faint scratching of pencils against paper and the loud sound of her own breathing in her ear. She was almost in a weird trance state, a mix between zen and anxiety, her mind overloaded with sensory pleasure from staring at Chloe's beautiful body for such a long time mixed with the panic of feeling Chloe will think she's weird! The teacher's voice startled Max. "Alright class, 5 more minutes, start to put the finishing touches on your sketches."

_Time went so fast!_ Max's drawing was only partially finished. She drew Chloe's face in great detail, as well as her legs... and breasts... and stomach... and butt. This was obvious because just glancing at the drawing, those areas were much more shaded, like she was highlighting all her favorite parts of Chloe!

Max scrambled to shade in the rest of the drawing.

The clock reached 7. Chloe scooted across the platform without standing up and grabbed her robe and put it on. She seemed to be more conscious of everyone staring at her. A lot of students continued to look at Chloe even as she walked away to try to get in any remaining detail that they could.

Chloe walked back to the curtain and changed. When she came out she was dressed in her ripped jeans and black jacket and skull tank top and beanie, a complete contrast from how she looked just a minute ago.

Chloe walked up to Max. "Hey Max, let me see."

Max put her pencil back to the drawing in an attempt to hide it. "Oh, it's not that good, I didn't really finish," Max said.

"I like it! I can definitely tell it's me. I like the shading you put."

Max's face turned red again. "Oh, thanks."

Chloe walked around and looked at the other drawings.

The teacher walked over to Chloe. "Thank you for dedicating your time to the arts, we all greatly appreciate it." The teacher started clapping and then everyone else joined in.

"Oh, yeah, no problem."

Chloe walked up to Max, who was sliding her sketchpad into her carrying bag.

"That's a big-ass sketchpad."

Max laughed. "Yes."

"So do you want to take my car?"

"Yes, please. I don't have a car."

"Oh, yeah, mine's just an old beat up truck, nothing special."

Chloe and Max walked out of the classroom and down the hall.

"So, you've seen it all now," Chloe said.

Max's face got warm. She didn't say anything.

"I'm just joking around," Chloe said.

As they were walking a girl walked up to them. "Hi! I just wanted to say you are really beautiful."

"Oh wow, thanks."

"Are you a professional model?"

Chloe shorted. "Ha- no. I just did this 'cause I thought you didn't need to be pretty."

"Oh, well you are, and you could be a pro if you wanted!"

"Thank you."

The girl smiled and left.

"Wow Chloe, you're quite popular," Max said.

"That was weird," Chloe said.

"I still can't believe you did that."

"I know. I normally wouldn't."

"What made you do it?"

"I guess I had a recent surge in confidence."

"Oh, that's good!" Max said.

"Yeah, it was still hella weird though. Having everyone staring at me. I felt so exposed. When I first dropped the robe, I felt this intense urge to cover myself up and run. But then, when no one laughed or made any stupid comments, that feeling began to fade, and I started feeling very free. I don't know how to explain it, but I just felt like 'well, everyone's seen me now, might as well just embrace it.' And then I just kind of started relaxing and I forgot about it. It felt like I was meditating."

"Wow. I don't know if I could ever do that."

"Yeah, I don't know if I'll do it again. But it was an interesting experience. It was cool seeing all the drawings at the end. I liked your drawing."

"Mine wasn't good, it's not even finished."

"Well, if ever need to finish, ya got the source," Chloe said pointing to herself.

"What?" Max automatically replied. It took her a moment to process what Chloe just said. _Is she flirting with me? Or does she mean professionally? She probably just means I can look at her face. _"What do you mean?" Max asked.

"I was just joking around," Chloe said

"Oh."

"So you want to go eat?" Chloe asked.

"Yes, I'm so hungry I could eat... a whole lot of food."

Chloe laughed. "Where are you living?"

"In the dorms."

"Oh, awesome. What's that like? Anything crazy?"

"Definitely not crazy. It's pretty low key, I just keep to myself."

"Sounds pretty chill."

"Where are you living?" Max asked.

Chloe paused for a second. "I'm still at home. The living situation is less than ideal. But hey, it could be worse. I can't complain."

They reached the end of the hallway and opened the door. "My truck's over here," Chloe said.

"Hey, this is totally cool!" Max said as she approached the truck. "Where did you get this?"

"I found it in an old junkyard and fixed it up."

"You got this car to run by yourself? Wow!"

Chloe laughed.

Max waited by the passenger door for Chloe to unlock it.

"The lock doesn't work, so you can open it. Don't tell anyone though."

The door handle squeaked when Max pulled on it. She sat in the car and the weight of the door was heavy when she pulled it shut.

"So what are you in the mood for? There's this cool taco truck down the way if you want that."

"Oh, well I just started being vegetarian."

"Oh cool. Trying to be healthy?"

"It's more because of the animals."

"Oh, right. Yeah, I try not to think about them when I'm eating meat." Chloe used a lot of effort to twist the key and the truck sputtered and roared to life. "So, vegetarian dinner tonight!"

"Woo!"

"There's a pizza place along the cliff. That's vegetarian, right?"

"Yes, that sounds good."

She pulled out of the parking lot and drove along the rode. She played a song on her iPod that was connected to the truck stereo. _Stray _by Gouge Away.

"Feel free to change the song."

"This song is nice."

They drove along the road, listening to the music. The sun was setting. The pink and orange light filtered through the trees and dyed the atmosphere.

They reached the top of the cliff. Chloe turned off the engine and the music stopped. She hopped out of the truck and slammed the door.

Max got out, she pulled out a medium sized sketchpad from her hag. "I have to do some drawings as homework."

"That sounds super chill." Chloe said. "Wish my homework was like that. Maybe then I would still be in school."

Max didn't know how to respond to that.

They went inside, ordered a large vegetarian pizza, and sat down at the table.

"So, how have you been? Did I already ask you that?" Chloe asked.

"I've been good. Just going to school, taking pictures, drawing."

"Sounds relaxing."

"Yeah but sometimes it can be too relaxing. I wish I had a little more excitement in my life," Max said.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. I just sit in my dorm, then go to class, then do homework, then go to bed. That's pretty much all I've been doing since I've gotten here."

"You should've called me up! I haven't been doing anything either."

"I didn't want to bother you.

"You can never bother me! Don't ever hesitate to text me. Honestly, I always like to hear from you."

"Thanks Chloe. I'm sorry I haven't stayed in touch, I know I said I would write."

"Hey, don't worry about it. We're here now, that's all that matters. We can stay in touch now, if you want to."

"Yes, I would like that."

"Alright cool."

Chloe looked around. "Where's that pizza. I am starving. I haven't eaten all day. I didn't want to eat before getting naked in front of a bunch of strangers."

"You shouldn't be starving yourself Chloe!"

"It was just today, I don't normally do it." Chloe looked away. "Ah it feels so weird. If I knew you would be there I wouldn't have done it. I just thought I'd never see those people again, but when it's someone you know, it's different. Once you see someone naked you look at them differently."

Max's mind went back to Chloe posing on the platform.

"See, you're thinking about me right now aren't you?!"

"No!" Max felt her face getting warm again. Max looked down at Chloe's outfit. A black jacket over a white tank top with the edges of her black bra visible.

"See, you're looking at me right now!"

Max covered her face. "I'm sorry! I was just spacing out."

"'Cause you were thinking of me naked."

Max's face was as red as pizza sauce.

Chloe smiled at how embarrassed Max was getting. "You're embarrassed?! Imagine how I feel!"

Max was looking at the table. "You shouldn't feel embarrassed. You body is amazing." Max had to confirm that she actually said that out loud. Once she did, she looked up at Chloe.

"Oh. Uh, thank you Max."

Max noticed Chloe's face turning red this time, a sight she's never seen.

"And I don't see you differently," Max said. Max started thinking about Chloe again. Maybe she does see her differently now. Not in a bad way. She's seeing her in a way she's never seen or felt before. "I mean, not in a bad way. If that makes sense."

"I'm probably just overreacting." Chloe said.

"You can draw me if that will make you feel better." _What am I saying?_

"Max!" Chloe started smiling as she looked away.

"See, now you're thinking of _me_ naked!"

"I am not! Alright, let's just forget about this," Chloe said.

There was an awkward silence while neither of them made eye contact.

"But thanks for trying to make me feel better, I appreciate it," Chloe said.

"Of course, Chloe. And I should have left when I saw that it was you."

"No, I signed up for it. And I could have easily left if I wanted to. When I signed up the teacher made a big deal about making sure I was comfortable and all that stuff."

"I should have looked away."

"No, you had to do the drawing!" Chloe said.

"Well, I'm like, jealous. I wish I looked like you" Max said.

"What? You look good, what are you talking about?"

"Your legs are really long."

Chloe put her hand on her face. "This was not how I was expecting today to go."

The vegetable pizza was slid onto the table seemingly out of nowhere. "Enjoy," the server said as they walked away. They both looked at the steam rise from the ingredients.

They ate in silence.

Eventually, Chloe broke the silence. "Can I see your sketchbook?"

Max pushed it across the table. Chloe flipped through the pages. "Hey these are really good. Hey that's the lighthouse, and the diner! You've been all over town!"

"Yeah on the weekends I walk around. Everything is exactly how I remember it."

"Yup, nothing changes here in Arcadia Bay."

"I mean there's something nice about that," Max said.

Chloe shrugged her shoulders. She grabbed Max's pencil pouch that was on the table. "Are these your pencils too? Whoa there's so many of them, and none of them have erasers."

Max took out a kneaded eraser and handed it to Chloe. "Whoa this is cool!" She started kneading it with her fingers.

"You can draw something if you want."

"Me? I can't draw."

"That's not true. Everyone can draw."

"I can't draw _well."_

"That's why you practice," Max said.

"Hmm," Chloe groaned.

"You can practice drawing my face," Max said.

Chloe looked at Max. "Alright." She picked up one of the pencils. "Which one should I use?"

"You should start with one of the soft ones. Here, use this one."

Chloe drew a line on the paper. "Whoa, this feels way different than a normal pencil." She drew another line. "Aren't faces like the hardest thing in drawing?"

"Not necessarily. It's all about the shapes. Whatever you're looking at, break it down into simple shapes. So, an oval for the head, and then circles for the eyes. Start lightly with the shapes, and then fill in the details after."

Chloe looked up at Max's face. Max lifted her chin up in response. Chloe laughed. "Thanks for posing." Chloe drew a large circle.

"Then, draw a line down the middle, and then draw another line horizontally where the bottom of the nose will be."

"Ah, so that's those line's are for."

Max continued to guide Chloe through the steps until she completed the drawing. When she was done she turned the sketchpad around for Max to see.

"Nice Chloe! That's pretty good, especially for your first try!"

"It was a lot easier than I thought. And when you have the fancy pencils and paper, it's actually pretty fun."

"You should give it a try. I have some extra pencils and paper if you want them."

"Hell yeah, I'll make some sweet doodles, especially when I'm high."

Max rolled her eyes. "Do you want to come see my dorm?" Max said.

"Yeah I wanna check out your pad!"

They continued eating the pizza, Chloe flipped through the rest of Max's drawings.

"My eyes were bigger than my stomach, do you want to take this to go?" Chloe said.

"Yes."

They put the pizza in a box and left the restaurant. They got into the truck and headed back to the school. "They don't allow visitors, which is totally dumb," Max said. "I don't know why. So, we're going to have to sneak in."

"Awesome we'll be like ninjas."

Chloe pulled the truck into the parking lot. The engine of the truck was not quiet. Not ideal for ninjas.

She turned off the engine and swung the keys around her finger.

"Okay, I know a secret way back way up through the emergency stairwell." Max said. "The alarm is broken so we can go in and out quietly. Also, we can cut through those bushes and walk through the trees so we don't take the main path."

"Ooo, sneaking me in. I like it," Chloe said.

They got out of the car and hopped over the bush. Max led the way through the trees carrying her art bag and Chloe followed.

They walked until they were behind the building with a door. Max looked around and then waved her hand. She opened the door and then they walked up the stairwell until they were at the 3rd floor.

"Okay, I'm going to check to see if anyone is in the hall. My room is right there." Max cracked the door opened and peeked through. "Okay, let's go."

Max walked into the hall and to her door. Chloe stood behind her as Max pulled her key out of her bag.

A door across from them opened.

"Shit," Max said under her breath. She turned around. "Hey, Kate."

"Hi Max."

"Hey, have you met my friend Chloe? Chloe, this is Kate."

Chloe lifted her hand up. "'Sup?"

"She was just coming to grab a book she let me borrow, and then she was going to leave."

Chloe made an unnatural grin in response, showing her teeth.

"Okay," Kate said. She continued to walk away down the hall.

Max finally put the key in in the door and walked inside. She waited for Chloe to walk in and then closed it.

"I shouldn't have said all that," Max said. "I panicked."

"I think we're fine," Chloe said. She looked at Max's wall, which was covered in Polaroids. "Whoa, this is sick. Did you take all of these?"

"Yeah."

"Is that a guitar?! I didn't know you played the guitar."

"I'm not that good."

"You take pictures, you draw, you play guitar. You're a creative powerhouse! Can you sing also?"

"Thanks. No I definitely cannot sing."

"Your room is sick. I love the lights."

"Thanks. Oh, here is the extra sketchpad. And here are a bunch of pencils, you can take as many as you want."

"Cool, thanks."

"So yeah, make yourself at home. I would offer you something but I don't really have anything. Want some water?"

"I'm fine for now, but thanks."

Max was stepping from side to side in the middle of the room. She seemed eager to say something. "You can draw me, if you want." Max's heart began to race as she said that.

"You mean like..."

"I can model for you."

Chloe began to open her mouth but nothing came out.

Max continued. "That way you don't feel weird anymore.

"Oh, no, don't worry about that, Max, I'm fine."

"Well, then we'll be even."

"Wait, you mean, with no clothes?"

Max didn't say anything, but she could see Chloe getting flustered. "Unless you don't want to," Max said.

"No, I do. I mean, yeah, if you want to."

"I want to see what it feels like," Max said.

"Ah, I see. Want to get adventurous," Chloe said.

"Can you turn around for a second?"

"Yeah," Chloe turned around and looked at the photos on the wall.

Chloe could hear the clothes hit the floor. "Okay," Max said.

Chloe turned around. Max was sitting on the floor with one of her knees bent up, leaning back on her hands similar to how Chloe was posing. The way her eyes almost exploded made Max laugh and caused her relax more.

Chloe opened her mouth to say something but she didn't say anything. She kept looking at Max.

"What?" Max asked.

"Oh, it's nothing," Chloe said. "You look incredible."

Max smiled. She watched Chloe's eyes continuously dart from the paper to her body. It was super obvious she was checking her out. Max wondered if she was being this obvious earlier and if Chloe noticed.

"I'll try not to screw this up," Chloe said.

"No pressure," Max said. "It's not like you're going to be graded."

"Well I never cared about grades anyways. I just want it to look good for you."

"Aw," Max said.

Chloe set the pencil down. "It's kind of warm in this jacket." She took it off and set it on the bed.

"I can open the window," Max said.

"Oh, it's oka-" Chloe watched as Max stood up and stepped over to the window, naked.

She unlatched the window and then pushed it up. Max crossed her arms around her body and turned around, then smiled and sat back down. "Sorry."

"For what? Were there people out there?"

"Outside? I'm not sure, I can check." Max stood up and went back to the window.

"Wait, I didn't mean that! Aren't people going to see you?"

"I don't think so, but it's not a big deal." Max sat on the window sill and leaned against the frame of the window. "You can draw me in this pose."

"Max!" Chloe looked out the window. "Dude, someone's coming!" Chloe stepped away from the window behind the wall. She reached out to grab Max but then stopped when she remembered she was naked. She instead gestured her hand for her to join her. Max jumped down and then peered up and out the window.

Chloe looked out the window again. "You want that dude seeing you?"

"That's the principal, ew. Alright, thanks for saving me from that."

Max looked at Chloe, whose face was on fire. She enjoyed watching Chloe's reactions. Max walked over to the couch and grabbed the guitar and placed it in front of her. "What about this pose?"

"That's pretty cool," Chloe said, her voice came out scratchy. She coughed. She then grabbed the paper and pencil. "Let me remind you that I am a shitty drawer and I won't do you justice."

"It doesn't need to be photo realistic, draw it in your own style."

Max watched Chloe as she kept looking up at Max for a long time before looking back down at her paper. It made Max feel more confident.

Chloe finished a rough sketch and then showed Max.

"I like it. You can keep it," Max said.

"Oh, okay."

Max stood up and walked around the room, enjoying Chloe's eyes glued to her. She grabbed a towel from her closet and threw it over her shoulder. "I'm going to walk down to the showers and walk back. Hopefully nobody sees me." She stepped into some flip-flops.

"What? You're crazy!"

Max opened the door.

"You're actually doing it?!"

Max was grinning and biting her lip. She put her finger on her mouth while peering into the hall. "Be right back." Max took off at a brisk pace down the hall. Chloe watched as she walked halfway down the hall and then turned to enter the locker room.

A few seconds later Max came out from around the corner and walked back down the hall and back into the room.

Max leaned against the wall and put her hand on her chest. "My heart's racing!"

"Did anyone see you?"

"No, I thought I heard someone so I darted back out, but I think it was just something outside."

Max dropped the towel onto the couch. "I'm going to do it again, want to follow me in?"

"What!?"

"Once I go reach the showers you can follow me."

Before Chloe could say anything else Max was already walking down the hall.

Chloe looked around to see if anyone was coming, then she tipped toed down the carpeted hallway.

She opened the door of the locker room and looked around. Nobody was there except for Max who opened the curtain and waved for Chloe to come in.

Chloe entered the shower and Max closed the curtain. "Want to take a shower?"

Max never seen Chloe's eyes become so wide. Max laughed in response

"What? Right now? With you?"

"If you want to," Max said.

Chloe's mouth was agape and smiling. "Oh my god."

Max seemed to get embarrassed for saying that. "I don't know."

"Okay," Chloe said.

Max smiled "Let me grab some towels, one second."

"You're going back?"

"Yeah, I'll run."

Max stepped out of the shower stall and closed the curtain.

Chloe could hardly process what was happening. She leaned back against the wall of the shower. The stall was relatively narrow, but maybe it was just her perception due to what was happening.

"Max?" A voice said.

Chloe looked out the crack of the curtain.

It was another girl, standing in front of Max. Max was covering herself with her hands.

"Hey Victoria," Max said.

"What are you doing?!"

"I forgot my towel, so I was going to go get it."

"But why are you naked?" She was looking down at Max's body.

"I forgot my clothes too."

Victoria gave Max a strange look. "Are you drunk?"

"I don't know, maybe." Max ran out of the bathroom.

"What the hell?" Victoria said to herself before looking in the mirror to brush her teeth.

Chloe put her hand over her mouth to stop any laughter from coming out. Chloe tried to hold her breath to avoid making any noise.

A few minutes later the door opened again.

"Ah, you're wearing a towel this time," Victoria said, looking at Max in the mirror.

"Sorry about that," Max said.

Victoria rolled her eyes.

Max walked up to the closed curtain that Chloe was behind, then stopped when she realized Victoria would see her.

She walked into the next shower stall and closed the curtain.

Victoria turned around and looked at the stall Max just entered, then turned back and continued brushing her teeth.

Chloe stood there not knowing what to do. Eventually Victoria finished and left the room.

Max burst through the curtains. "I thought she would never leave."

"Dude, she was totally checking you out!"

"What? Really?"

"Yeah, like, she couldn't keep her eyes off you. I can't believe you got caught!"

"I know, I panicked! Even though I knew it could happen, I didn't think it would _actually_ happen! It was surreal."

"This is nuts," Chloe said.

"I know!" Max said, "I've never done anything like this." Max had tote bag in her hand which she hung on hook on the shower wall. "Maybe I'm going crazy."

"Hey, it's cool. I'd still like you if you did."

Max pushed Chloe's shoulder. "Well, thanks," Max said. Max rummaged through the bag. "I got a bunch of supplies, and I brought brought an extra pair of flip-flops for you. They're probably too small, though." She placed them on the ground.

"Oh, thanks." Chloe looked at Max. "So, uh, we're really doing this?"

"Do you want to?" Max asked.

"I mean, I do if you do."

"I do."

"Will this change things?" Chloe asked.

Max looked down at the tiles on the floor. "I don't know."

Chloe didn't know her heart could race so fast.

Max continued talking. "But maybe it'll be a good change? You regret the things you don't try? Is that the saying?"

"That sounds true."

Chloe bent down to untie her boots. "Alright, let's try these flip-flops." She took off her boots and slid her feet into them. "Hey, they kinda fit."

"Your nails are cute," Max said, "they're matching."

"Yup, it's all part of my awesome punk aesthetic."

"Let me put your boots out on the bench so they don't get wet." Max took out a towel and wrapped it around herself. "I'll wear this this time." Max took the boots and walked out of the stall and placed them on a bench by the entrance. As she was walking back the door opened. Max turned around. "Hey, Dana."

"Hey, Max. What's up?"

"Nothing. What are you up to?"

Dana sighed. "Nothing, just getting ready for bed. It's early but I don't have any plans tonight. My date canceled last minute. Asshole."

"I'm sorry Dana."

Dana looked over at the bench. "Whose boots are those?"

"Oh, they're mine."

"Really? It doesn't look like something you'd wear." Dana looked at the closed curtain. Chloe pulled away from the crack when she was certain she made eye contact with her. "Oooo, Max! Do you have a guy in there?"

"What? No!"

Dana had a smug look on her face. "Uh-huh. Well, if you are dating someone, I'd love to meet him. Oh, and also, be careful in there, it's slippery. Trust me. Anyways, I'll let you be. See ya later." Dana walked out the door.

"There's no one in there!" Max said as the door fell shut.

Max walked back into the shower stall.

"Oh my gosh." Max said. "Oh well, whatever."

"I think we're fine," Chloe said,

Max took her towel off and put it in the bag.

Chloe's heart sank again, though she tried to hide it.

"Okay," Max said.

"Alright," Chloe responded. "Uh, yeah, so, I guess I'll just..." Chloe took off her tank top.

"You can put it in here."

"Okay thanks."

Chloe took off her beanie.

"I like your hair."

"Thanks."

Chloe unbutton her jeans.

"You can hold onto my shoulder so you don't touch the floor."

"Alright, thanks." Chloe held onto Max's shoulder while pulling the leg of her jeans off. "This is challenging."

Chloe finally got them off. She placed them in the bag. Chloe stood there for a moment.

"Only if you're comfortable," Max said.

"I am," Chloe said. "I won't overthink this."

She took off bra and tossed it into the bag, and then her panties.

Max looked at Chloe. "When I saw you modeling, I couldn't even think straight."

"Really? I had no idea. I mean, I couldn't think straight either. I can't even right now."

Max laughed. She turned on the shower. "Ah! It's so cold!" Max jumped out of the way. She put her hand in the water to test the temperature while turning the dial. "That's better." Max submerged herself in the water, letting her hair run onto her face. She stepped out and brushed the hair out of her face. "Come in," Max said, gesturing.

Chloe stepped into the water.

Max and Chloe looked at each other. Max stepped closer to Chloe until they were right next to each other. "Can I kiss you?" Max asked.

"Yes," Chloe said.

Max put her hands on Chloe's face and collided with her lips.

Chloe's eyelids sank. The water hissed. The steam filled her lungs. The vibration from Max's hands ricocheted through Chloe's body. The kiss with Max caused her to float in their tiny oasis.

Max pulled herself away from Chloe, her hands still on her face. "I really like you," Max said.

"I really like you too, Max"

"I'm kind of nervous," Max said, taking her hands off Chloe's face.

"You're nervous!? I'm like freaking out over here!"

Max laughed.

"I had no idea, you're, like, so confident, and just taking charge."

"You're making me excited! But what I meant was, I'm nervous that maybe I'm going too fast," Max said.

"Oh. I don't know, but I'm here for the ride. Maybe let's not overthink it," Chloe said.

"Okay."

Chloe leaned in and kissed Max again. Max responded by leaning back into Chloe and kissed her more.

Max pulled away and reached into the bag and pulled out a bottle. "I have strawberry smoothie body wash."

"Oooo" Chloe said.

"Can I put this on you?"

"Yes."

Max squirted the soap into her hand and then pressed it against Chloe's stomach.

Chloe laughed. "That's tickles!"

"Sorry, I'll put it on your arms." Max ran her hand down Chloe's arm. "Is that good?"

"Yeah."

Max ran her hand up onto Chloe's shoulder, then down onto Chloe's chest. "Is this good?"

Chloe slowly nodded her head.

Max took both her hands and rubbed them down and up Chloe's breasts.

The sound of the door opened. Max's gasped as her hands were frozen on Chloe's breasts.

Chloe covered her mouth with both of her hands to stifle her laughter.

Max used her arm to suppress her laugh.

They could hear footsteps walk past their stall and then the curtain next to them close.

Chloe smiled and looked at Max and mouthed _shit!_

Max waved her hand to the side. _It's fine_, she mouthed.

Max rinsed her hands off.

Chloe pointed to herself and then pointed to Max.

Max nodded her head and handed the bottle to Chloe. Chloe squeezed it and it made a burping sound. Max let out a laugh before she could stop it. She froze to wait for some type of response but the person didn't say anything.

The door opened again and two voices entered mid-conversation.

"Someone left their boots here," one of the voices said.

"They're not mine," the other voice said.

"I wrote the answer exactly how he taught it, but he still gave me a 80! I couldn't believe it!"

"He sounds awful."

"He always calls on me in front of the class. He does it intentionally just to humiliate me."

The sound of the faucet turned on.

The door opened again. At this point it was hard to keep track of how many people were in the room.

"Are you going to the party tonight?"

"I don't want to."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, I didn't want to either. Do you want to just watch a movie or something instead?"

Chloe pointed to Max again and Max nodded. Chloe rubbed her hands down Max's arms, then onto her stomach and up onto her breasts.

Max pulled on the back of Chloe's neck and kissed her. She pushed herself into Chloe's mouth. Chloe responded by opening her eyes, but then closed them when she saw how passionate Max was.

The door opened again. It was a set of voices. "Here, use the water to rinse it off."

Max pulled out another bottle. It was lavender shampoo.

Chloe nodded her head and held out her hand to which Max squeezed the soap into her palm.

Chloe put her head under the water and her hair fell down into her face. She pulled back and blew the remaining drops off her lips and used her arm to brushed the hair out of her eyes. Chloe started massaging the soap into her hair. Max reached up and also massaged Chloe's hair. Chloe grinned and then closed her eyes.

"Whose boots are those?" a voice said.

"I've never seen anyone wear these."

"You notice everyone's shoes?"

"Yes, of course."

The door opened and the voices disappeared.

"You have to use soap," a different voice said.

"I already did!"

The faucet turned off. "I have some detergent in my room."

The door opened and closed.

The shower next to them turned off and the curtain opened. Footsteps walked across and the door squeaked again.

"Is anyone else here?" Max whispered. Max looked out of the curtain, then stepped out of the stall and walked around the room.

"All clear," Max said before stepping back in with Chloe.

"Did you not learn? Are you trying to get caught again?"

"I like seeing people's reactions."

Chloe rinsed the remaining soap from her hair. "Alright the water's getting kind of cold, do you want to get out now?"

"Yeah, I brought you a towel," Max said as she pulled one out of the bag.

"Thanks. So how are we going to do this?"

"I was thinking I would go back first, and then you can come in after."

"Sounds good."

Max went and grabbed Chloe's boots and brought them to her.

"Why thank you Max."

Chloe put her clothes back on and her beanie over her wet hair.

"Okay, maybe wait like 30 seconds before coming out." Max said.

Max wrapped the towel around herself, grabbed the bag, then walked down the hall and then waited by the door for Chloe to follow in.

Footsteps could be heard walking up the stairs. Max rapidly gestured her arms towards herself and Chloe ran the rest of the way.

Once Chloe was inside, Max closed the door and let out a large sigh. "Wow," she said. "That was something!"

"Yes!"

Max took off her towel and threw it onto the couch.

"You ever going to put clothes back on?" Chloe asked.

"Hmm, maybe tomorrow," Max hummed. "Then again, I don't have to be anywhere, so maybe not."

"Maybe tomorrow we can go to my house," Chloe said.

"I'd like that," Max said.

"But you'll have to put on some clothes. At least, until you get there."

"I can't make any promises," Max winked, then kissed Chloe on the lips.

* * *

_A/N: This is lightly inspired by a real life event in which I was in the showers in the dorms, and I thought I was alone so I was standing outside the shower stall, looking in the mirror, completely naked. Then, another student walked in! Except here they just looked at me and didn't say anything! I panicked and jumped into the stall and slammed the curtain shut. They had walked head on, facing me from the front, so they saw everything!（*/∇＼*）_


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